The Lost
by GEM1588
Summary: Set after episode 14: Fool Me Once. With Magic anything is possible.


**a/n: Two Wounded Hearts by RockerChic08 inspired this story.**

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Set immediately after episode 14: **Fool Me Once**

"911, what's your emergency?" the voice crackled on Elena Gilbert's cell phone.

"She's not breathing!" the seventeen-year old replied in a panic stricken voice. "We need an ambulance!"

Less than a foot away, Sheila Bennett lay motionless on her bed.

Elena's best friend Bonnie Bennett was trembling as she hastily flipped through the pages of her ancestor's grimoire, in search of a spell to save her Grams. Tears poured down her cheeks as she sobbed aloud. "This isn't happening," the young witch repeated over and over as if that itself could change the current situation.

But it didn't.

Words weren't enough.

"They're on their way." Elena disconnected the call even though the operator offered to stay on the line with her until the paramedics arrived. The situation was grim and Elena was fairly certain without divine intervention, Grams wasn't going to make it. She needed to be with Bonnie right now, not hostage to someone sitting in a call center.

"Bonnie…," she began to speak placing a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"There has to be something in here," Bonnie cried through her lament as she tore a page of the aged spell book. "There just has to be!"

As if by some fated coincidence, Elena's phone rang at that very moment. She wouldn't have answered, but it was Stefan.

"Stefan, she's not breathing," Elena mumbled into the phone as she watched Bonnie hold her hands out over her Grams and try to read from the book.

"Who's not breathing?" Stefan asked with concern.

"Bonnie's Grams," and with that Elena's first tears began to fall. "I called 911, but…"

"I'm coming over."

"Grams! Grams!" Bonnie wailed shaking the limp body before her. "Why isn't it working!" she let go with one hand to wipe under her nose. "What good are these STUPID powers if I can't save you!"

"Bonnie…," Elena reached out in comfort when there was a loud knock.

_I didn't hear sirens_ Elena thought to herself as she rushed to answer the front door.

"Stefan?" The speed at which he arrived shocked her as did the fact that Damon was right behind him.

"Invite me in," Stefan said urgently.

"Come in," Elena replied quickly moving aside to grant him access. She looked up at Damon's melancholy expression as he stood there quietly.

"Come in," she repeated and Damon made his way inside following Stefan. Elena shut the door and went into the bedroom. The four of them standing there made the small room seem like a closet.

Stefan was bent over Grams checking her vital signs.

"May I?" Damon asked Bonnie as he reached for the grimoire.

"NO!" Bonnie snatched the book away. "You've done more than enough already. Now get the HELL out of here!"

"She's going to die, Bonnie," Damon's voice was void of any emotion. "You have one chance to save her, but I need to see the book."

"Give it to him," Stefan spoke to her gently.

"What! NO!" Bonnie gasped clutching the book tight against her chest. Stefan reached out his hand, clasping his fingers around the top binding.

"It's her only chance," he said gently sliding the book from her grasp and handing it to his brother.

Damon opened the book and set it on the edge of the bed next to Grams. He turned two pages, "This one," he said to Bonnie as he exchanged places with her.

Bonnie didn't want to believe or trust Damon. Acting selflessly wasn't his style. But she had to try. If she didn't she knew she'd never forgive herself for the inevitable 'what if"

The spell was written in another language. She stumbled over the words. Damon corrected her pronunciation several times. Fortunately the spell was only a few lines, and she kept repeating them over and over.

But nothing changed.

"Concentrate."

Bonnie took a deep breath then placed her hands over Grams. She was practically sitting on top of the bed, on top of her grandmother as she continued the spell with a new desire, insistence.

Elena laced her fingers through Stefan's. He squeezed her hand softly in support as they both watched Bonnie embracing her heritage.

Damon stood off in the corner still feeling the stung that came with his newly acquired knowledge of Katherine. He'd reached a crossroads in his life, one that he'd never foreseen. And for the first time, he was absolutely lost.

The sirens grew louder. Elena buried her face in Stefan's shoulder. His lips descended upon the top of her head. "I'm so sorry."

Bonnie didn't hear the sirens. She didn't hear Stefan's whisper. All she heard was a faint heartbeat which she willed to be stronger. The sensation in her body was beyond explanation. It was as though she was in another dimension, looking at the things around her with a different perspective. Sounds, colors, touch all swirled into one sense. Now she could see the heartbeat. Its pale white color changing to a bluish haze but it was drifting away. With her eyes closed Bonnie reached out a hand in front of her to touch it, to bring it back to where it belonged.

But it didn't want to come.

Bonnie fought against the exhaustion that threatened to weaken her. She forced herself to stay the course. She was close, so close. From somewhere deep inside, the witch found the strength to speak the words again, ordering it to come back.

This time it listened.

There was a low cough and Bonnie opened her eyes to the miraculous sight of her Grams clearing her throat.

"Grams," Bonnie's hands shook with excitement. "Grams, she repeated as the old woman slowly her eyes.

"Oh my God," Elena uttered under her breath. She felt as though she'd just witnessed a miracle. Stefan's expression conveyed the same wondrous emotion.

"What are they doing here?" Grams sat up with a swift motion, glaring at the Salvatore brothers.

"They helped…," Bonnie began to explain.

"You invited them IN!" Grams yelled furiously. "What is wrong with you!"

"I was trying…,"

"Get out," Grams hissed to Stefan and Damon.

Stefan released Elena's hand, bowing his head in apology and left the room. Damon took a few steps toward the bed.

"You better stay away from me," Grams threatened.

"You're welcome, Sheila," Damon answered politely before disappearing.

"What were you girls thinking?" Grams scolded Bonnie and Elena. "Letting them both in MY house."

There was no time to answer. A paramedic rushed inside with a large medical bag.

"Ma'am, lay down please," he spoke with a southern drawl as he began taking vitals.

"Can't you see I'm fine?" Grams argued but did as he asked.

Bonnie smiled in relief. Grams was back. Everything was going to be ok.

Elena's foot tapped uneasily on the floor. It was HER fault. She invited them in, more significantly, she invited Damon inside. The brunette let out a low sigh of regret. There was nothing she could do it about it now.

-o-

Damon sat on the couch watching the flames crackle in the fireplace. He knew Stefan was only a few feet away but he ignored his brother. There was no reason for them to speak. He didn't want to talk about Katherine or the past or even the future for that matter. Right now there was nothing in his heart and as far as he was concerned that's how it was going to be for the rest of eternity.

"Are you going to tell her?" Stefan asked.

"Could you be more specific?" Damon leaned back against the couch crossing his legs.

"Bonnie. About the spell."

"She'll find out on her own."

Stefan shook his head in disappointment. Damon was no more human no than he had been when he first came to Mystic Falls. The younger brother hated doing Damon's dirty work, but someone had to tell Bonnie that her spell brought back more than just Grams.

He walked slowly toward the stairs, trying to figure out the best way to tell her without scaring her. Lost spirits weren't known for being friendly.

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**_I know I'm in the minority, _**_but I wholeheartedly believe that Grams is NOT going to die._

_This is meant as one shot (the product of my lunch break), however ending it with a cliffie is just plain mean. So once I finish My Diabolical Master Plan, this story may get revisited or rewritten or something. _

_Peace, Love and Bamon_

Gemma


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